We’re not just tough on crime, we’re addicted to it

The 1980s and 1990s were a golden era for those who believe that the path to a just society is paved with prison cells and cheap labor. Let us embark on a journey through this misguided epoch, where the so-called “tough on crime” policies collided spectacularly with the age-old American tradition of exploiting captive labor.

In the hallowed halls of justice, our esteemed legislators decided that the best way to solve society’s ills was to lock up as many people as possible. Mandatory minimum sentences, three-strikes laws, and the war on drugs became the unholy trinity of the criminal justice system. The result? A veritable explosion in the prison population that would make even the most ardent gulag enthusiast blush. But why stop at mere incarceration when you can turn prisons into profit centers? With a stroke of legislative genius, these paragons of virtue simultaneously expanded prison labor while gutting educational programs. After all, why waste time teaching inmates when you can put them to work for pennies on the dollar?

This isn’t the first time America has fallen for the siren song of captive labor. Oh no, we have a long and inglorious history in this department. From the post-Civil War convict leasing system to the chain gangs of the early 20th century, we’ve always found creative ways to skirt that pesky 13th Amendment.

The convict leasing system, that paragon of Southern ingenuity, allowed states to lease prisoners to private companies. It was slavery in all but name, with a dash of plausible deniability thrown in for good measure. And now, in our infinite wisdom, we’ve managed to recreate this system under the guise of rehabilitation and fiscal responsibility.

The Free Market Fallacy

Here’s where things get truly perplexing. We pride ourselves on being the land of the free, the bastion of capitalism and free markets. Yet, we’ve created a system where free workers must compete with a captive labor force that has no rights and no ability to negotiate. It’s as if we’ve decided to play Monopoly, but one player gets to use Monopoly money while everyone else has to use real cash. This isn’t just a moral abomination; it’s an economic one. How can we expect honest, hardworking Americans to compete with prison labor that costs next to nothing?

The greatest irony in this whole sordid affair is that in our zeal to be “tough on crime,” we’ve created a system that practically guarantees more crime. By canceling educational programs and focusing on labor, we’re ensuring that inmates leave prison with few marketable skills beyond those they can use in the very industries that exploit them. And let’s not forget the perverse incentives this creates. When prisons become profit centers, there’s a vested interest in keeping them full. It’s no wonder that the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. We’re not just tough on crime; we’re addicted to it.

A Call to Sanity

It’s high time we recognize this system for what it is: a modern form of slavery that undermines the very principles of liberty and free enterprise we claim to hold dear. We need to be tough on crime, yes, but not at the expense of our souls or our economic principles. We must ban slavery, for real this time and with zero exceptions and we must raise the federal minimum wage to fifty dollars. We must create a justice system that actually seeks to reduce crime rather than profit from it. And for the love of all that is holy, let’s stop pretending that forced labor or cheap labor whether insourced or outsourced is anything other than a blight on the character of those who can’t do ‘business’ without it.

In the words of that great philosopher, Bob Dylan, “How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?” It’s time we open our eyes and put an end to this travesty. After all, liberty is not a mere suggestion in our Constitution – it’s a fundamental right that should not be bartered away for the convenience of private industry or the political expediency of being “tough on crime.”

The framers of our Constitution would be aghast at this perversion of justice. They understood that the power to imprison is the power to destroy, and that such power must be wielded with the utmost restraint and moral consideration. What we’ve created is not a justice system, but a labor extraction machine that would make the most ruthless industrial baron blush with shame. Let us be clear: a society that treats its most marginalized members as disposable labor is a society that has lost its moral compass. We must be better than this.

The path forward is not through more cells and cheaper labor, but through liberty and prosperity, for all and not a shady few, and a genuine commitment to human dignity. Anything less is not just a failure of policy – it’s a betrayal of the very principles that define us as a nation. And to those who would argue that this is simply the cost of maintaining order, I say: get your head on straight.